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Revelation

About this book
Chapter 20

1 Then I saw an angel descending from heaven, holding in his hand the key to the abyss and a huge chain.⁠ 2 He seized the dragon—the ancient serpent, who is the devil and Satan—and tied him up for a thousand years.⁠ 3 The angel then threw him into the abyss and locked and sealed it so that he could not deceive the nations until the one thousand years were finished. (After these things he must be released for a brief period of time.)⁠ 4 Then I saw thrones and seated on them were those who had been given authority to judge. I also saw the souls of those who had been beheaded because of the testimony about Jesus and because of the word of God. These had not worshiped the beast or his image and had refused to receive his mark on their forehead or hand. They came to life and reigned with Christ for a thousand years.⁠ 5 (The rest of the dead did not come to life until the thousand years were finished.) This is the first resurrection. 6 Blessed and holy is the one who takes part in the first resurrection. The second death has no power over them, but they will be priests of God and of Christ, and they will reign with him for a thousand years. 7 Now when the thousand years are finished, Satan will be released from his prison 8 and will go out to deceive the nations at the four corners of the earth, Gog and Magog, to bring them together for the battle. They are as numerous as the grains of sand in the sea. 9 They went up on the broad plain of the earth and encircled the camp of the saints and the beloved city, but fire came down from heaven and devoured them completely.⁠ 10 And the devil who deceived them was thrown into the lake of fire and sulfur, where the beast and the false prophet are too, and they will be tormented there day and night forever and ever. 11 Then I saw a large white throne and the one who was seated on it; the earth and the heaven fled from his presence, and no place was found for them.⁠ 12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. Then books were opened,⁠ and another book was opened—the book of life.⁠ So the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds.⁠ 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each one was judged according to his deeds.⁠ 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire.⁠ 15 If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, that person was thrown into the lake of fire.

Texts in conversation

Compare 4 Ezra 8:53 and Revelation 20:14

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · New Testament

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Summary

Revelation depicts Death and Hades being thrown into the lake of fire, similar to 4 Ezra that describes death being abolished at the final judgment. Both reflect an apocalyptic tradition where death is a hostile power that must be eliminated.

Passages

4 Ezra 8:53

Pseudepigrapha, Apocalypses · 2 Esdras
51 But understand for yourself, and for those who inquire concerning the glory of those like you, 52 because paradise is opened to you. The tree of life is planted. The time to come is prepared. Plenteousness is made ready. A city is built. Rest is allowed. Goodness is perfected, and wisdom is perfected beforehand. 53 The root of evil is sealed up from you. Weakness is done away from you, and death is hidden. Hell and corruption have fled into forgetfulness. 54 Sorrows have passed away, and in the end, the treasure of immortality is shown. 55 Therefore ask no more questions concerning the multitude of those who perish.
70–132 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in 4 Ezra

Revelation 20:14

New Testament
12 And I saw the dead, the great and the small, standing before the throne. Then books were opened, and another book was opened—the book of life. So the dead were judged by what was written in the books, according to their deeds. 13 The sea gave up the dead that were in it, and Death and Hades gave up the dead that were in them, and each one was judged according to his deeds. 14 Then Death and Hades were thrown into the lake of fire. This is the second death—the lake of fire. 15 If anyone’s name was not found written in the book of life, that person was thrown into the lake of fire.
92–96 CE (scholarly estimate) Read in Revelation

References

"... "the idea of Christ's defeat of the powers of Hades is sufficiently explained from the Jewish apocalyptic expectation that at the last day God would 'reprove the angel of death' (2 Bar 42:8), command Sheol to release the souls of the dead (2 Bar 42:8), abolish death (LAB 3:10), close the mouth of Sheol (LAB 3:10) or seal it up (2 Bar 21:23; compare TeachSilv 103:6-7). In the expectation of resurrection there was a sense of death and its realm as a power which had to be broken by God (compare also Matt 16:18; 1 Cor 15:44-45; Rev 20:14; 4 Ezra 8:53). These ideas were transferred to the context of Christ's descent to Hades because of the early Christian belief that Christ's death and resurrection were the eschatological triumph of God over death. The details, as we have seen, derived from that process of Christological exegesis of the Old Testament which supplied so much of the phraseology and imagery of early Christian belief ..."
Richard Bauckham, The Fate of the Dead: Studies on the Jewish and Christian Apocalypses, NovTSup 93 (Leiden: Brill, 1998), 43.

References are not endorsements of their contents. Read each reference in full to understand its author's intentions in using these texts.

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4 Ezra 8:53 and Revelation 20:14

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